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Friday, August 1, 2014

Riders vs. Redblacks

Saturday the 2-2 Riders
make their first trip to Ottawa to play the 1-3 Redblacks. This will be the
Riders’ second road game of the season… the last time being that embarrassment
in Toronto.Hopefully that game was an
aberration as opposed to a sign of what we can expect on Eastern road trips
this season. The game is sold out which is good.

People keep talking about
how the Redblacks look pretty good for an expansion team. But really this is
just a polite way of saying that we’re all surprised they haven’t been a
complete and utter embarrassment. The comparison bar for expansion teams is set
pretty low so looking good by that measuring stick is like being the best team
in the East division… oh wait. I do think Ottawa has a good core of players and
will be able to build themselves into a good team in a year or 2 but as of
right now they have holes we should be able to exploit.

Offensively they have one
weapon that concerns me: Chevon Walker. Guy is a threat to score from anywhere
on the field. Thing is his season is starting to resemble his first season in
Hamilton. Hot start followed by a steady decline back to mediocrity. Check out
his stat line over the first 4 games of the season and note the trend:

Game 1 – 99 yds, 2 TDs

Game 2 – 94 yds, 1 TD

Game 3 – 85 yds, 0 TDs

Game 4 – 64 yds, 0 TDs

Defensively giving him zero
space needs to be priority #1. We need to hit with the same intensity and
fundamental soundness that we saw last game. If we can stop Walker from being a
factor we are left with Henry “The best fans in the league are by far [insert
city I’m playing for here]” Burris and a cast of receivers that that weren’t
good enough to stick as a #3 or 4 receiver on other teams. It’s true that 2 of
their receivers have more yards then our top receiver but that says nothing of
their quality. Someone has to catch the ball in Ottawa… remember that year
Elijah Thurmon put up big numbers here? Guys like Marcus Henry are capable of
making the odd highlight reel catch or having the odd big game but do not have
anything remotely resembling consistent performance. Our DBs should be more
than up to the challenge of covering this group. That leaves the battle we are
all most anxious to see: our sack happy D-line vs. Burris. As long as they stay
disciplined and keep Hank contained I expect our sack tally to grow and to see
a lot of this face…

Offensively we get another
favourable match-up is spite of the fact that we lack a little something called
a credible passing attack. Here’s a stat for you: we have completed less passes
than any team… including Montreal (though to be fair we’ve attempted less
passes and thrown for more yards than Montreal). Pop quiz for you: After Taj,
who is the Riders’ leading receiver...

By process of elimination
I’m sure you will eventually come up with the answer… Rob Bagg. My point is our
passing attack (if you can call it that) isn’t scaring anyone. All signs point
to Chris Getzlaf finally returning to the line-up which will be an immense
help. It will be add a veteran guy who knows how to adjust his routes and get
open but more importantly it will add a second receiver Durant trusts.

Here are the facts about
Ottawa’s defense… they suck. They suck against run, allowing a league worst 121
yards per game and 6.1 yards per attempt. They suck against the pass, allowing
a league worst 305 yards per game. They suck at creating turnovers with a
league worst 6 this season. And they suck at keeping people out of the endzone,
allowing 28 points per game (2nd most in the CFL). This is why I say
this is a favourable match-up.

Game plan should be the
same as last week. Hit them with the run until they prove they can stop it. We
are the top rushing team, they have the worst run D. Don’t over think this just
pound it at them. Be patient in the passing game. With the protection our OL
can offer receivers will get open. Honestly if the likes of Swain and Schillens
can’t get open against the Redblacks we are in trouble when we face credible
defenses. TJ Hill and Jerrell Gavins are about the only guys who concern me on
D so where possible I would avoid giving them an opportunity to make plays. If/when
we do decide to pass I would attack the safety spot where Eric Fraser is far from
an impact safety (unless you count having a negative impact on the team he
plays for).

The Redblacks have only one
win and it came against the lowly Argos and they didn’t even manage to score a
TD during that win… there’s no reason we shouldn’t win this game. Add in the fact that injuries
are taking a toll on Ottawa (Jovon Johnson, Kierre Johnson, Chris McKoy and
Justin Phillips are all likely out). Unlike what we saw when the Riders
traveled to Toronto, I expect the team to come out focused and with the same
intensity we saw last week. I expect another strong defensive performance,
another strong rushing performance and a moderately improved passing attack.